Advancing strengths-based methodologies for transformative service research

• Develops a strengths-based methodological architecture for transformative service research. • Synthesizes five methodological pathways for studying vulnerable consumer experiences. • Identifies core research mechanisms linking methods to theoretical outcomes. • Incorporates consumer neuroscience and implicit approaches to capture non-conscious processes. • Advances a process-oriented roadmap for theory development in service systems. A new methodological framework is introduced to advance Transformative Service Research (TSR) concerning consumers experiencing vulnerability. A comprehensive analysis of empirical literature demonstrates the field’s dominant reliance on traditional, primarily researcher-centered methods, such as interviews and focus groups. This methodological narrowness limits the extent to which consumer strengths, resilience, and adaptive practices are captured across issues such as aging, physical disability, and financial insecurity. This work counters the methodological imbalance by delineating five underutilized, participant-centered approaches: participatory action research, grounded theory, storytelling, visual methods, and consumer neuroscience and implicit approaches. These methods are carefully selected to structurally mitigate power differentials, amplify marginalized voices, and reveal embodied or implicit consumer insights. The research provides a systematic roadmap for advancing the use of these techniques in TSR, addressing essential ethical considerations, and offering practical guidelines for inclusive research design. The framework informs future research aimed at better understanding consumer agency, resilience, and inclusion within service systems. Beyond extending TSR’s methodological repertoire, the framework shows how strengths-based approaches reveal new dimensions of vulnerability, thereby advancing theoretical understanding of resilience and inclusion within service systems.